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The Impact of Using a Bilingual Dictionary (English-Arabic) for Reading and Writing in a Saudi High School

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The Impact of Using a Bilingual Dictionary (English-Arabic) for Reading and Writing in a Saudi High School THE IMPACT OF USING A BILINGUAL DICTIONARY (ENGLISH-ARABIC) FOR READING AND WRITING IN A SAUDI HIGH SCHOOL By Ali Almaliki A Master’s Thesis/Project Capstone Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Education Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) Department of Language, Learning and leadership State University of New York at Fredonia Fredonia, New York December 2017 THE IMPACT OF USING A BILINGUAL DICTIONARY (ENGLISH-ARABIC) FOR READING AND WRITING IN A SAUDI HIGH SCHOOL ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to explore the impact of using a bilingual dictionary (English- Arabic) for reading and writing in a Saudi high school and also to explore the Saudi Arabian students’ attitudes and EFL teachers’ perceptions toward the use of bilingual dictionaries. This study involves 65 EFL students and 5 EFL teachers in one Saudi high school in the city of Alkobar. Mixed methods research is used in which both qualitative and quantitative data are collected. For participating students, pre-test, post-test, and surveys are used to collect quantitative data. For participating teachers and students, in-person interviews are conducted with select teachers and students so as to collect qualitative data. This study has produced eight findings; first is that the use of a bilingual dictionary has a significant effect on the reading and writing scores for both high and low proficiency EFL students. Other findings include that most EFL students feel that using a bilingual dictionary in EFL classrooms is very important to help them translate and learn new vocabulary words but their use of a bilingual dictionary is limited by the strategies for use that students know or are taught, and that both invoice and experienced EFL teachers agree that the use of a bilingual dictionary is important for learning word meaning and vocabulary, but they do not all agree about which grades should use bilingual dictionaries. The results of this study have a potential to alert Saudi policy-makers to the benefits of using bilingual dictionaries in the English curriculum through all grade levels in Saudi schools. i Table of Contents Abstract i List of Tables and Figures iii Section 1: Introduction 1 Problem Purpose Research Questions Significance Section 2: Review of Literature 7 Introduction Learning and Teaching the English Language Learning and Teaching the English Language in Saudi Arabia Vocabulary Learning The Role of Dictionaries in Vocabulary Acquisition Bilingual Dictionary Use in EFL Contexts Section 3: Methodology 44 Research Design Data Collection Procedure Data Analysis Validity and Reliability Considerations Section 4: Results 56 Results From the Pre-test and Post-test Results From Survey of Students’ Attitudes Results From Students’ Interviews Results From Teachers’ Interviews Section 5: Discussion 88 Overview of Study and Findings Significance of the Findings Limitations of the Findings Conclusion: Answer to the Research Question Recommendations for Future Research References 99 Appendix A: Bilingual Dictionary Survey for EFL Students 108 Appendix B: Interview for EFL Students 109 Appendix C: Interview for EFL Teachers 109 Appendix D: Activity Before the Pre-test and Post-test 110 Appendix E: Pre-test (Without Using Bilingual Dictionary) 111 Appendix F: Post-test (With Using Bilingual Dictionary) 113 ii List of Tables and Figures Table 4.1 Mean Test Scores Analysis 57 Table 4.2 Overall Students’ Attitudes Regarding the Importance of Using Bilingual Dictionaries 62 Table 4.3 Overall Students’ Attitudes Regarding the Frequency of Using Types of Word Information 67 Table 4.4 Overall Students’ Attitudes Regarding the Necessity of Using Bilingual Dictionaries in EFL Classes 71 Table 4.5 Overall Students’ Attitudes Regarding Adequate Training to Use Bilingual Dictionaries 74 Table 4.6 Overall Students’ Attitudes Regarding Teachers’ Dictionaries Use Strategies Classroom 76 Table 4.7 EFL Students’ Background Information 78 Table 4.8 EFL Teachers’ Background Information 82 Figure 4.1 Statement 1. 59 Figure 4.2 Statement 2. 59 Figure 4.3 Statement 4. 60 Figure 4.4 Statement 6. 61 Figure 4.5 Question 7-a 63 Figure 4.6 Question 7-b 64 Figure 4.7 Question 7-c 64 Figure 4.8 Question 7-d 65 Figure 4.9 Question 7-e 66 Figure 4.10 Question 7-f 66 Figure 4.11 Statement 8 69 Figure 4.12 Statement 9 69 Figure 4.13 Statement 12 70 Figure 4.14 Statement 3 72 Figure 4.15 Statement 5 73 Figure 4.16 Statement 11 73 Figure 4.17 Statement 10 75 iii Impact of Using Bilingual Dictionary p 1 Section 1: Introduction The English language has proven itself as a familiar channel of communication from centuries ago as a global language. Crystal (2012) describes the power of English Language on a global scale. Over the course of the last half-century, the English language has established itself to be one of the world’s first global language. According to Crystal (2012), there are two primary ways of achieving the status of “global language” as Crystal puts it: first, when the language becomes the Official Language of many countries and second when that language is made a priority in a country’s foreign language teaching. According to this criteria, Saudi Arabia is one of the countries that shows English as a global language because Saudi Arabia has made English a priority subject in its public and private schools. However, English as Foreign Language (EFL) students in Saudi Arabia encounter a great stumbling block in their learning whether in reading comprehension or writing of English. Problem English language is considered as a primary subject in Saudi high schools where it is taught as a foreign language in four lessons per week. Students face many challenges in English subject, mostly in reading comprehension and writing English passages or writing about a topic in English since they have limited knowledge of English. Saudi students do not understand most of the English vocabulary words, which makes learning a big challenge for them since vocabulary words form an essential part of learning. Therefore, students struggle to find the Impact of Using Bilingual Dictionary p 2 meaning of the English words they encounter which are not translated into their home language of Arabic. Some teachers of EFL in Saudi schools have become accustomed to teaching the English language using an old strategy for teaching new vocabularies. They teach English vocabularies using the memorization methodology as the best way for teaching. They have abandoned the vocabulary instruction which focuses on bilingual dictionaries because some of the teachers consider that English classes should be taught in the English language only and therefore disregard translating the meaning of the word into the Arabic language. These teachers feel that bilingual instructions should be avoided in EFL classes (Al-balawi, 2016). On the other hand, English curriculums in Saudi schools have changed from how it used to be ten years ago when English curriculums were provided with Arabic translation at the end of the textbooks (Al-sowat, 2012). However, throughout recent years, English curriculum developers have disregarded the translation into the Arabic language (Alhaisoni, 2012). So, English curriculums are now designed by overseas companies that only focus on giving English- English meanings. This policy change causes many challenges in English language learning since it delays the Saudi students’ English learning abilities. Ryhan (2014) describes how Saudi EFL students with little knowledge of the English language “students with no prior knowledge of English language end up completely confused, threatened, demotivated, and lost in translation” (p.141). Based on my personal experience for many years in Saudi schools, I have noticed that many EFL students struggle with reading comprehension due to their lack of English vocabulary knowledge. I have also found that the biggest problem that EFL students encounter is the stumbling block of unknown words when they read. Alrashidi and Phan (2015) assert that many Impact of Using Bilingual Dictionary p 3 Saudi EFL students memorize vocabulary to pass exams without understanding the underlying meaning of the content of the passage. Failing to understand the meaning behind the words ultimately means that these students are not gaining the foundational knowledge for success with the English language. However, according to (Assalahi, 2013), the Grammar-Translation method is allowed in EFL classrooms by the education policy in Saudi Arabia. However, many EFL teachers do not encourage EFL students to train and use a bilingual dictionary efficiently in order to understand the meanings of the English words they encounter (Hamouda, 2013). According to Mart (2013), translation helps and allows EFL students to see the similarities and differences between their home language and a second language (English). Through comparing word meaning between both languages, students will use the target language effectively. The level of writing skill among EFL students in Saudi high schools is considered one of the biggest areas of challenge. Most Saudi EFL students struggle with the task when they are asked to write on a particular topic, write a short composition piece or answer questions. These challenges stem primarily from their limited vocabulary in the second language (English). Al- khsawnesh (2010) explains that the majority of Saudi EFL students have a limited English vocabulary. Thus, students tend to repeat the same words when they are asked to write a composition. Al-khsawnesh (2010) also explains that due to their lack of English vocabulary, many EFL students are unable to give voice in English to their thoughts. Al-Nasser (2015) asserts that many Saudi EFL students encounter significant problems in writing, which then hinder their progress in learning the English language. Based on my experiences teaching English in Saudi schools, I have observed EFL students continuing to face enormous challenges when required to complete writing tasks in English.
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